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Name/William/Thayer-D: while they don't have postcard permits, and they probably shouldn't because the likelihood of f*ing up is much higher (e.g., in Aspen's historic district, contractors have to do an online "test" to be certified to work there), the reality is that much of this is captured in the counter (desk) approval process, which is where most permit applications are 100% handled. I don't know the exact percentage, but it's extremely high.

The really tough questions and new projects go to HPO staff and then HPRB.

That being said, the ideas expressed in Name's comment, better info for homeowners (something I've advocated for years) including an annual historic building expo (comparable say to the Historic Bungalow Expo in Chicago) plus other changes, such as EVENING HOURS AT LEAST ONCE/WEEK to accommodate home owners who can't take time from work, need to be considered as the basis for a re-jiggering of how things are done to make the process/appear to be less onerous.

The reason I am pretty hard core about preservation is because mostly in my experience, people do really bad things (shorten window heights, rip off porches, replace stone walls with concrete block, inferior window and door replacements, bad tuckpointing/mortar usage, vinyl siding to cover up masonry, or for new additions on brick houses, etc.).

Oh and Tom C. -- the reason that Georgetown has separate regulations is because it was created as a historic district by a Congressional law passed in 1950. This predates the National Historic Preservation Act by 16 years.

Having not been much involved in Georgetown stuff at all, I haven't paid much attention to the Old Georgetown Board and how it works. It would be interesting to determine if its procedures are significantly different/better than HPO/HPRB and then capture and implement the learning.

by Richard Layman on Aug 1, 2012 10:56 am • link • report